Bahrain

Two more Hezbollah funerals

The Lebanese Daily Star is now reporting on the death of Ali Hussein Nassif, the Hezbollah commander who was killed "while performing his jihadi duties" – presumably in Syria.

It says his funeral, near Baalbek in the eastern Bekaa valley, was attended by top Hezbollah officials including the head of the group's judicial council, Sheikh Mohammad Yazbek, and the head of the political bureau, Sheikh Ibrahim Amin al-Sayyed.

But Nassif was not the only one ...

On Tuesday, Hezbollah's al-Manar television showed the funerals of at least two other Hezbollah members it said were killed while performing their "jihadi duty".

It said one of the group's members, Zein al-Abideen Mustafa, was buried in his hometown of Baalbek, while another Hezbollah member, Hussein Mohammad Hussein Diab, was buried in his hometown of Ghassaniyeh in southern Lebanon. Both funerals were attended by Hezbollah officials and commanders.

The coffins of the dead were draped with Hezbollah's yellow flags and carried by militants in black uniforms and red berets. Hundreds of people marched in the funeral.

Hezbollah has so far declined to give any explanation on the circumstances of their deaths.

Updated at 5.49pm BST

5.14pm BST

Protests flare up in Bahrain

There have been protests in Bahrain today – accompanied by teargas – following the death of a prisoner.

Authorities announced the death of Mohammed Ali Ahmed Mushaima at Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) around 3:30am as a result of sickle cell anaemia complications.

The deceased was one of the inmates in the Reformation and Rehabilitation Centre. He was sentenced to seven years after being found guilty of charges relating to the vandalism, rioting, assaulting a police officer, and resisting arrest which took place at Bahrain's Financial Harbor in March 2011.

While incarcerated, Mushaima was treated on more than one occasion at Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) for sickle cell complications. He was admitted to SMC on 28 August 2012 and remained there until his death early this morning. The case has been referred to the Public Prosecution for investigation.

The Ministry of Health reported today that the deceased had collapsed after visiting the bathroom on his ward. A medical team attempted to resuscitate him but unfortunately they were unsuccessful.

The statement goes on to say that a forensic examination found "no injuries on the body which could indicate criminal action".

Updated at 5.29pm BST

4.57pm BST

Ahmadinejad favours elections in Syria

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says elections are the way forward for Syria.

In an interview with al-Jazeera, he said Syria's crisis could be solved through national dialogue leading to elections, Reuters reports.

"There is another way to find a solution, it is national, mutual understanding in order for there to be elections in the future," he said.

The interview was translated from Persian into Arabic by al-Jazeera.

3.19pm BST

Doubts about Assad visiting Aleppo

EAWorldview is very sceptical of the Lebanese newspaper report that President Assad is visiting Aleppo – and that he has ordered an extra 30,000 troops to be sent there.

Recently, there has been fighting near the airport, and civilian flights have long-since stopped. We find it very unlikely that Assad has visited Aleppo by helicopter. Furthermore, such a move would likely be accompanied by a massive escalation of air raids and military operations inside the city to knock the FSA on their back foot.

There is always violence in Aleppo now, and fighting has clearly escalated this week, the result of a renewed opposition offensive, but there is no sign that Assad has helicoptered into this warzone.

It's also unclear if Assad even has 30,000 troops and 2000 armored personnel carriers in Hama. As some of the most informed experts on this crisis now suspect that Assad's total operational forces that he can commit to forward operations has dropped below 100,000, it's hard to imagine the Syrian military moving 30,000 soldiers anywhere.

3.14pm BST

Hezbollah commander's death in Syria confirmed

A Lebanese security official has confirmed that a Hezbollah commander and several other fighters were killed in Homs, AP reports (see earlier).

The security official said Tuesday that Hezbollah commander Ali Hussein Nassif's body was brought to Lebanon through the Masnaa border crossing.

It was not clear whether he had been fighting alongside the Syrian army.

Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV showed the funerals of at least two Hezbollah members it said were killed while performing their "jihadi duty."

3.05pm BST

President's home town 'still sealed off'

Qardaha – President Assad's home town – is sealed off for the second day running, according to a resident of Latakia, 20km away. In a conversation via Skype, Awla Sulaiman told our colleague Mona Mahmood that the government had sent 30 tanks to Qardaha and planes were flying over the area.

The town is home to several prominent and wealthy Alawite families but it seems that conflict broke out among them at the weekend. There are several differing accounts of what happened (see earlier post). This is Awla Sulaiman's version and, as with the others, the Guardian is unable to confirm it:

The Assad, Shalish and Othman families were spending time together on Saturday night in Qardaha. The wife of Rami Makhlouf, [President] Assad's cousin, is from the Othman family. It is a huge and well known family in Qardaha.

According to some people who live in Qardaha, one of the men of the Othman family was asking Muhammad al-Assad: "When will Bashar leave? Are you waiting for the FSA to get to Qardaha?"

Muhammad al-Assad is one of the main supporters of shabiha [regime thugs] in Syria, with Rami Makhlouf. He provides the shabiha with lots of money.

Muhammed got very upset at the question. Not long after, Muhammad al-Assad and the Shalish family targeted the house of Rami Makhlouf's father-in-law from Othman's family with a hand grenade. Five members of the family were killed, but Muhammed al-Assad himself was shot and heavy clashes broke out between the two sides.

The news about Assad clan fighting cannot be confirmed and originates from All4Syria, Ayman Abdulnour’s site. Although an excellent site, it is sometimes quick to copy reports and must sometimes retract what turns out to be rumour.

In an email to the Guardian today, Landis told us he is keeping an open mind about the reports:

Over the years I have been told so many stories about the first family being at daggers drawn or being held prisoner by each other, etc that I am usually hesitant to bite until there is some eyewitness I trust. Too much potential for wish fulfilment, etc.

Syrian refugees triple to 300,000

The number of Syrian refugees has more than triple to 311,500 - more than three times the level in June, according to new figures from the UNHCR.

Spokesman Adrian Edwards said urgent help was needed to deal with humanitarian crisis.

Compounding the urgency is the upcoming onset of winter temperatures across the region in less than 10 weeks from now. We are in a race against time. In Jordan, for example, where thousands are living in tents, the average low temperature between mid-November and mid-March is two degrees Celsius. A winterisation plan is being developed, but it too requires support and funding.

The UNCHR gave the following break down of refugee numbers and projections in four of the countries that neighbour Syria:

•Jordan: 103,488 people registered refugees, estimated to increase to an 250,000 by the end of the year.

•Lebanon: 80,800 registered or awaiting registration. Expected to increase to 120,000 registered refugees by the end of the year.

•Turkey: 93,500 registered refugees in camps. Several thousand more are known to be outside government camps. The number of refugees could increase to 280,000 by the end of the year.

•Iraq: 33,704 Syrians registers as refugees, including 4,263 in the last week alone. More than 28,000 are Syrian nationals of Kurdish origin. Up to 60,000 Syrians may be in need of protection and assistance in Iraq by the end of the year.

Syrian refugees are seen living under makeshift tents in the grounds of a school in Atme, a village near the Turkish border controlled by the rebels of Free Syrian Army. Photograph: Michel Moutot/AFP/Getty Images

The UNHCR's Twitter stream puts the figures in perspective:

UNHCR United Kingdom (@UNHCRUK)

Putting numbers in perspective - No. of #refugees who've now fled Syria is equal to the entire population of Cardiff: bit.ly/SZkDW6

Assad said to be visiting Aleppo

President Bashar al-Assad is visiting Aleppo "after reports reaching the Syrian general staff that the situation is difficult in the city," according to a Lebanese newspaper which is sympathetic to the regime.

Al-Diyar reports (in Arabic) that Assad flew by helicopter at dawn from the presidential palace in Damascus to Aleppo. It implies that he is still in Aleppo, though it does not say which day he arrived.

According to al-Diyar, "President Assad ordered units 5 and 6, estimated to be 30,000 soldiers and 2,000 personnel carriers, to move from Hama to Aleppo and to attack any occupied areas of Aleppo province from the Turkish border."

Assad's visit and his decision to send more troops would be a newsworthy development if true, but so far there has been no mention of it in the official Syrian media.

A man walks down a rubble-strewn street in Aleppo, which has been damaged by months of clashes between Syrian rebels and government forces. Army shelling and air raids have killed dozens more civilians, including children, while rebels and loyalists fought close-quarter battles in the northern city's main souk. Photograph: Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images

Updated at 5.20pm BST

11.47am BST

Friend of Austin Tice says video staged

The man who helped Austin Tice get into Syria says he is convinced that his friend is being held by the Syrian government and that video of with jihadi 'captors' was staged.

Michael Weiss, research director at the thinktank Henry Jackson Society, says he feels partly responsible for Tice’s fate after helping him enter Syria from northern Turkey in May.

But talking to the Guardian he said of the former marine: “Austin is a tough guy, he knew what he was getting himself into.”

The first time I saw it it looked dodgy to me. It doesn’t have the characteristics of a jihadi video. Apparently this was not uploaded to the usual forums, it first made an appearance on a pro-Assad Facebook page. The clothing that kidnappers are wearing appears to be all too newly laundered ... There is an element of surreality to it that I couldn’t shake.

But Weiss pointed out that the video appeared to have been recently filmed, judging by the length of Tice’s hair in the clip.

“That video, hard as it is to watch, at least shows that he was alive beyond the last communication,” he said.

Weiss is convinced that Tice was captured by government forces in the suburbs of Damascus.

The last time I spoke to Austin was on g-chat [on] August 8th and he was in an area of Damascus that was subsequently pummelled by the regime and then raided.

I’ve been in contact with his editor at McClatchy, who knows some of the backstory and the likelihood that he was kidnapped by jihadi seems remote. It seems much more likely that he was taken by the Assad regime. On Assad’s own Facebook page he referred to Austin as a Mossad agent. So this has all the signs of them keeping him and then trying to pretend as though some scrofulous element on the ground working for the opposition had captured him.

Weiss said it was unlikely that Tice was taken by the Islamist group Jabhat al-Nosra as they had not targeted journalist before. Tice had set up an interview with a commander of Jabhat al-Nosra, but the group then cancelled the meeting, he said.

The Assad regime, on the other hand, has a record of working with jihadi groups, Weiss pointed out.

For years the Assad regime, for years, was funnelling so-called rat lines of jihadis into Iraq. So they have a working partnership with these groups. And it seems likely that these groups turned on their former master. But we don’t know to what extent elements in the regime are still liaising with them.

But I’m not convinced that this is a bone fide jihadi group. It looks to me like it is staged kidnapping and they are just giving proof of life in this clunky manner.

Weiss denied allegations that Tice is spying.

If Austin is a spy he wouldn’t have needed little old me to get him into Syria.

Weiss has drafted, but not yet sent, an email to Tice’s parents explaining how their son entered Syria. Weiss first had contact with Tice when they were in southern Turkey in May.

He said: ‘I want to backpack and report through Syria throughout the summer. I don’t know anyone I came here on a wing and prayer with all the money I have in the world. Can you put me in touch with someone who can put me inside the country?’ So I did. The person I put him in touch with [Mahmoud] happens to be rebel friend of mine, also a fixer, who I went to Aleppo with myself and is eminently trustworthy.

After about a month Tice left Mahmoud and struck out on his own with other rebels, and headed for the Damascus suburb of Darayya.

He has appeared in videos advising rebels where to stand when operating RPGs, Weiss said. Slipping into the past tense Weiss said:

He had experience in war zones - he was in Afghanistan for quite awhile. He knew how to take care of himself ... He had balls. He knew what he was doing and he certainly knew what the risk were he was incurring.

Weiss speculated:

Did he fall into the wrong hands? Was he with some dodgy rebels who might have betrayed him? Was this just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time?

11.15am BST

Trouble in Assad's home town?

There are reports of fighting between Alawite families in President Assad's home town, Qardaha, though details are sketchy. Yesterday the town was said to be sealed off.

The event happened in Malik coffee shop located in the heart of al-Qardaha. A fight between Alkhyer family with Uthman and Aboud families on their side against the Assad’s and Shalish families.

It all started when a member from Alkhyer family criticised Bashar al-Assad saying "What is he waiting for – until we get killed in our villages? He should go already."

This statement upset Mohammad Alassad known as Sheikh al-Jabal (the Mountain King); he pulled out his gun and opened a hand-held bomb. Immediately he was shot and wounded critically.

The clashes continued for a period of time with all roads leading to al-Qardaha closed.

The next day I received information about the death of five members of [the] Uthman family. This story is taken from Samar Yazbik (an Alawite activist who’s mother belongs to [the] Uthman family.

The Guardian cannot confirm these reports but would welcome any further information.

Updated at 3.15pm BST

10.50am BST

Russia opposes buffer zones in Syria

A senior Russian official today urged Nato not to seek any pretexts for military intervention in Syria, Reuters reports citing the Interfax news agency.

It quoted deputy foreign minister Gennady Gatilov as saying Russia opposes the creation of buffer zones or humanitarian corridors in Syria and called for calm between Turkey and Syria over tension on their border.

10.37am BST

Hezbollah chief 'killed in Syria'

Ali Hussein Nassif, a senior military figure in Hezbollah, was buried in Lebanon yesterday. The moqawama website has pictures and a report (in Arabic).

The website does not say how Nassif died but the Israeli Ynetnews, citing Lebanese media sources, says he was killed in Syria on Sunday.

Nassif was in charge of all Hezbollah operations in Syria, and served as the liaison between the Shia group and Bashar Assad's forces ...

Opposition groups in Lebanon said that Nassif was killed in a clash near Homs, following an ambush by Syrian rebels.

According to the Free Syria Army, he was driving near the city when the rebels detonated a roadside bomb.

The Syrian opposition said that Nassif was transferred to Syria following the escalating uprising in the country, and was tasked with quashing civilian uprisings.

He was also responsible for tracking down individuals wanted by Hezbollah.

We’ve seen the video. We are not in a position to verify, (a) whether it’s him, (b) whether it represents an actual scene that happened or something that may have been staged. There’s a lot of reason for the Syrian Government to duck responsibility, but we continue to believe that, to the best of our knowledge, we think he is in Syrian government custody.